Incorporating Structural Changes in Agricultural and Food Price Analysis: An Application to the U.S. Beef and Pork Sectors

Posted in: Economics by admin on January 1, 2008 | No Comments

This paper proposes a protocol for agricultural and food price analysis, which goes beyond the existing practices of focusing on the time series properties of the variables in question, such as the existence of a unit root and of a
cointegrating relationship among nonstationary prices, by entertaining structural breaks when conducting those tests. Specifically, this study applies Perron’s unit root test and Gregory and Hansen’s cointegration
test (both of which allow for structural change of unknown timing) to the U.S. beef/cattle prices
and pork/hog prices. To obtain consistent estimates of the break dates in the retail beef,
wholesale beef and farm cattle price linkage equation and those in the retail pork, wholesale pork
and farm hog price relationship, the study employs Bai and Perron’s and Kejriwal and Perron’s
global sum of squares minimization procedure to search for the optimal break dates, utilizing the
principle of dynamic programming to ease the computation burden. The empirical results strongly suggest that beef/cattle prices are nonstationary, while there is ample evidence to support the conclusion that pork/hog prices are stationary.

Analysis of periparturient risk factors affecting sow longevity in breeding herds

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The association of periparturient risk factors with sow longevity and the validity of sow removal decisions made during the periparturient period were analyzed. Data pertaining to 2066 sows from a commercial breeding herd from the US Midwest were used in this study. The likelihood of removal from the herd within 35 d post-farrowing decreased with a younger parity, the absence of lameness or other health problems, a higher lactation feed intake (LFI) and a greater number of live-born piglets (P a younger parity lowered (P number of piglets born alive was higher (P periparturient period. A greater (P periparturient period farrowed. More sows (P culled compared with sows retained without health problems during the periparturient period. In summary, periparturient factors such as LFI, the incidence of lameness or health problems, as well as sow-level characteristics such as higher parity and fewer piglets born alive predicted the removal of a sow from the breeding herd. Sows retained with periparturient health problems had reduced longevity and fewer live-born piglets, and fewer such sows had another farrowing.

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/

A note on the effects of co-mingling piglet litters on pre-weaning growth, injuries and responses to behavioural tests

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Two coping styles, ‘‘active’’ and ‘‘passive’’, are well defined for some species (see Koolhaas et al., 1999 for a review). Even though the existence of distinct coping styles in pigs is controversial (Jensen et al., 1995), studies on coping abilities have provided insights into piglet behaviour (Hessing et al., 1993; Ruis et al., 2001). Behavioural tests have been used to identify possible behavioural patterns indicative of coping styles. Hessing et al. (1993) introduced the backtest as a general assessment of pigs’ coping styles. According to Benus et al. (1991) passive copers are less social, less aggressive and show longer attack latencies than active copers. Consequently, social challenges, in which piglets are allowed to interact with unfamiliar individuals (D’Eath and Burn, 2002) and social isolation tests (Ruis et al., 2001) have been used as indicators of pigs coping styles. In pigs, the effects of co-mingling litters on coping abilities before weaning are unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine how co-mingling litters affected piglets’ pre-weaning growth, ear injuries, suckling behaviour and responses to behavioural tests used to measure coping abilities. Thirty sows and their respective litters were housed in standard farrowing crates until day 13 after birth. On day13, the partition between two neighbouring pens was removed for 20 litters allowing piglets to interact (forming 10 co-mingled litters). The remaining 10 control litters were kept in standard farrowing crates throughout the experiment. Three focal piglets from each litter were used for data collection. Focal piglets were weighed and ear injuries recorded on days 2, 4, 9, 12, 15 and 18 after birth. There were no differences in piglets’ weight gain before or after co-mingling. Ear injuries were more abundant in co-mingled litters on day 15 (P < 0.05) but these differences disappeared by day 18. Suckling behaviour was recorded on days 5, 8, 10, 14, 16 and 18 after birth. There were no differences in teat fidelity, suckling frequency and mother fidelity between treatments. Three behavioural tests, social challenge, isolation, and backtest, were performed before and after co-mingling. There were no treatment effects on piglets’ response to the isolation test and backtest. Co-mingled piglets showed longer latency for the first aggressive interaction (P < 0.05), spent more time in proximity to one another (P < 0.05) and performed less single bites (P < 0.05) than control piglets during the social challenge. In addition, the duration and frequency of aggressive interactions (P < 0.05) were lower in co-mingled piglets than control piglets. Co-mingling did not affect the frequency of single head thrusts or oral–nasal contact, but did tend to increase the frequency of escape attempts (P < 0.10). Our results suggest that co-mingling litters during lactation affects piglets’ social behaviour, by primarily decreasing aggressive interactions during social challenges.

For more information the full article can be found at http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/applan/issues

Effects of space allowance on the welfare of dry sows kept in dynamic groups and fed with an electronic sow feeder

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The minimal legal space allowance for grouped pregnant sows in the EU is 2.25 m2/sow. The effect of higher
space per animal on agonistic behaviour and social stress of animals living in dynamic groups is not known.
Two groups of 34 pregnant Belgian Landrace sows were housed in two pens of respectively 102 m2 (3 m2/
sow) and 76.5 m2 (2.25 m2/sow). Each sow lived there for 15 weeks. Sows were fed through an electronic sow
feeder. According to the dynamic system, one third of each group (i.e. 11 or 12 nearly parturient sows) was
replaced every 5 weeks by the same number of recently inseminated sows.Welfare indicators were collected
during six of these 5 week-periods: performance, agonistic behaviour, skin lesion score and salivary cortisol.
No differenceswere observed for production parameters, or for fighting activity. However, themean number of
one-way aggressions, when observed during 2 h-periods at 3 and 8 days after grouping, was significantly lower
in the large pen than in the small one (respectively 16 X 2 versus 26 X 3, p < 0.01, and 10 X 2 versus 20 X 5,
p < 0.05). The mean number of injuries was also lower with the 3 m2 space allowance, when collected on the
introduced sows one, 2 and 3 weeks after grouping. Some contradictory differences in salivary cortisol were
noted 2 and 26 h after mixing, but without reaching statistical significance. An available area 33% higher than
the EU legal minimum reduced agonistic behaviour and consecutive wounds and thus induced better welfare
conditions for sows living in dynamic groups and fed with an electronic sow feeder. The impact on productivity
and social physiological stress need further research.

For more information the full article can be found at http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/applan/issues

Effect of a Bacillus-based direct-fed microbial feed supplement on growth performance and pen cleaning characteristics of growing-finishing pigs

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A direct-fed microbial (DFM) based on a combination of Bacillus organisms specifically selected to increase the manure decomposition process was evaluated to determine its efficacy for improving growth performance and manure dissolution time. It was found that the Bacillus based DFM improved ADG and reduced mortality of pigs during the growing-finishing period.

Factors affecting the variability in ileal amino acid digestibility in corn distillers dried grains with solubles fed to growing pigs

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This study was conducted to compare to compare ileal digestiblity of amino acid in distiller dried grains solubles(DDGS) from ethanol production and DDGS from beverage production. The results confirm that the digestiblity of lysine is more variable among sources of DDGS than the digestibility of other amino acids. However, the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids among DDGS sources vary within the regions tested. It was also concluded that the amino acids in DDGS from beverages may be just as digestible as DDGS from ethanol production.

Isoleucine and valine supplementation of a low-protein corn-wheat-soybean meal-based diet for piglets: Growth performance and nitrogen balance

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This study determined the effects of growth performance when piglets were fed an Ile and Val supplementation of a low-CP, corn-wheat-soybean meal. Also studied was the nitrogen balance as well as the incidence of diarrhea. The results indicate that supplementation of Val alone, or in combindation with Ile, is necessary to achieve maximum performance in pigs consuming this diet.

The nutritional value of zero-tannin faba bean for grower-finisher pigs

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The nutrient profile of zero-tannin faba bean and its effects on performance and
carcass characteristics of grower-finisher pigs was investigated. In exp. 1, chemical characteristics were analyzed. Faba
bean contained (as fed) 27.5% crude protein (CP), 1.75% lysine, 0.88% threonine, and 0.21% methionine. Twelve 55-kg
barrows were fitted with an ileal cannula and fed twice daily at 3maintenance either a 96% faba bean diet or a 62% faba
bean diet containing cornstarch to measure apparent total tract energy and ileal amino acid (AA) digestibility, respectively,
and calculate standardized ileal digestible (SID) AA and net energy (NE) content. After a 6-d acclimation, faeces were
collected for 2 d and ileal digesta for 2 d. Apparent total tract energy digestibility, and digestible energy and NE content
were 88.5%, and 3.47 and 2.27 Mcal kg-1 (as fed), respectively. Apparent ileal digestibility was 85.9, 76.1, and 74.1%, and
SID AA content was 1.54, 0.70, and 0.16% (as fed), for lysine, threonine, and methionine, respectively. In exp. 2, 100
grower pigs in 20 pens were fed either a soybean or faba bean-based diet regimen from 35 to 115 kg. Diets were formulated
to equal NE and SID [Grower (35 to 60 kg), 2.40/3.95; Finisher 1 (60 to 90 kg), gilts 2.38/3.15, barrows 2.38/2.76; Finisher
2 (90 to 115 kg), gilts 2.38/2.92, barrows 2.35/2.55; Mcal kg-1 NE/g SID lysine Mcal-1 NE, respectively] using determined
NE and SID values for faba bean. Pigs were weighed, feed intake was measured, and carcass measurements were obtained.
From 35 to 115 kg, average daily feed intake (ADFI; 2.58 and 2.56 kg d-1, respectively) and gain (0.96 and 0.98 kg d-1)
did not differ between faba bean and soybean meal. Feed efficiency was 0.02 higher for soybean meal than for faba bean in
the Grower phase (P<0.05). At slaughter, back fat thickness did not differ; however, loin depth was 4.0 mm thicker for soybean meal than for faba bean (P<0.05). In summary, zero-tannin faba bean has an attractive nutrient profile and does not alter ADFI or average daily gain (ADG) of grower-finisher pigs at inclusion rates up to 30%. The reduced feed efficiency in the Grower phase and reduced lean thickness for pigs fed faba bean indicate that dietary AA supply might have been limiting for the faba bean diets early in the study. In conclusion, the zero-tannin faba bean is a worthwhile energy and protein feedstuff to consider in swine feed formulation.

Biosecurity Pays Big Returns

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There are many very visual practices we undertake and are familiar with in the name of biosecurity such as entrance showering, downtime, and cleaning of anything brought in to the farm. However, when we are finished a cycle the idea is to clean and disinfect inside the barn to reduce the challenge for the oncoming batch. The better we clean and disinfect the barn the better it looks and the less challenging it will be for our new arrivals. Standard cleanup involves a four-step process, pre-cleaning, degreasing, pressure washing and disinfecting. This process allows the animals to utilize all of their energy on growing, instead of challenging volumes of Bacteria /Viruses.

Commercial validation of the true ileal digestible lysine requirement for eleven- to twenty-seven-kilogram pigs

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Five experiments utilizing 3,628 pigs
were conducted to determine the true ileal digestible
(TID) Lysine requirement for 11- to 27-kg pigs fed corn soybean
meal diets. Data from
all 5 experiments yielded a single-slope, broken-line
response, with requirement estimates for TID Lys of
1.33 and 1.35% for 11- to 19-kg pigs. The 5 experiments
gave requirement estimates of 1.30% TID Lys (3.80 g
of TID Lys/Mcal of ME) for 11- to 27-kg pigs, equivalent
to 19 g of TID Lys/kg of gain.